The Madison County School District (MCSD) is still waiting on its Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) traffic study to be completed before it can move forward with the plans for the new Mannsdale Sixth Grade School.
This traffic circulation study, which delayed the school opening date when MCSD learned about the requirement, is focused on movement through the MS 463 and Stribling Road intersection. This intersection is requiring improvements because there will be new traffic flow through it when the additional school opens. There is already two other schools, Mannsdale Upper and Lower Elementary, at the intersection that creates heavy traffic in the area.
“It’s an impossible situation for traffic already,” District 2 Supervisor Trey Baxter said previously. “With two schools there on a two lane state road, it’s hard to even say what the impact will be if this intersection isn’t completed by the time the school is open.”
Stantec Consulting was hired in September to create the design of the intersection changes, including adding a traffic light, turn lanes, and a new access road – all of which don’t exist at all at this moment.
In March of 2021, MDOT reviewed an initial traffic study of the intersecting roadways. However, in September, the school district learned MDOT would require an additional study to help gather further information to create a circulation and to determine potential placement for the additional access road leading to the new school. After the study, the school district will be required to submit their proposed circulation plan before the permits for construction of the roads can be issued.
Prior to the additional traffic study being conducted, Stantec engineer and senior associate Brad Engles said the design process would hopefully be completed within a year. After its completion, construction would begin.
The traffic study was expected to take 11 weeks from the time a bid was accepted, which Assistant Superintendent Richard Burge said he didn’t expect to take too long. However, it has been five months since that timeline was stated, and MCSD Director of Communications Gene Wright said she does not know when they can expect the traffic study to be completed.
“We have not yet received the results of the traffic study, so there is no movement on the project at this time,” Wright said.
The original date for the school to open was May 2023 but, when the study was announced, it was pushed back to Fall of 2023 with students moving into the building in January of 2024. However, more information on the next steps for the school’s progression will be available at the conclusion of the traffic study.
“This winter we are working with our demographer as part of a regularly-scheduled population study to make sure we are most effectively planning to manage needs across the entire district,” Wilson said. “Once we have the information from the MDOT traffic study in hand as well as the upcoming report from our demographer, we will have more information.”
